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Umpiring is a good profession, Lankan veteran tells Dubai cricketers

Having played first class cricket with moderate success, Ranmore Martinesz has gone on to represent Sri Lanka with distinction in international cricket as ICC umpire.
The 53-year-old Colombo-born umpire, during a webinar with the students and coaches of Dubai's Tellicherry Cricket Academy, encouraged youngsters to take up umpiring as a profession.
"I was a passionate cricketer myself, but I discovered that umpiring could be a good profession as well," Martinesz said during the webinar with the Tellicherry Cricket Academy students,
"I began my career as a club umpire and then went on to officiate in international cricket. And I also officiated at the 2015 World Cup."
The genial Sri Lankan then opened up about his nervousness while walking out to officiate in his first international match alongside the legendary Australian umpire Simon Taufel.
It was in the India-New Zealand match in Dambulla on August 10, 2010, that Martinesz made his debut as an international umpire in one-day cricket.
"To be honest, I did have the butterflies in my stomach when I went out to officiate in my first match. But having a senior umpire like Simon Taufel helped. He helped me calm my nerves," Martinesz remembered.
The first and foremost quality of an umpire, according to Martinesz, is the ability to remain unbiased.
"The minimum expectation from the umpires is to be free from bias," he said.
"When I am officiating in a match, I have always maintained that."
And just like the cricketers, the umpires too need to maintain the highest fitness standards in the demanding world of international cricket.
"The umpires need to be very fit to stand on the field for long durations. We follow a fitness routine supported by appropriate nutrition which has helped me
as an umpire," said Martinesz, who has officiated in eight Test matches, 46 one-day internationals and 29 T20 Internationals.
rituraj@khaleejtimes.com